By MH Staff - Posted on 4th March 2014

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Men don’t like to ask for help. We hate it. Of the guys who actually do visit their GP, 80% of appointments are initiated by their partners. Even male cancer helplines get more calls from women. But this is not a telling off. This is a DIY physical that will alert you to any minor glitches in your health, all without spending half a working day in a musty waiting room.

What You Do
Next time you need to urinate, get two clear cups or glasses – preferably not the best crystal she uses when her parents come to visit – and take them into the bathroom. Lock the door.

Start “going” in the first glass until it’s a couple of centimetres full. Then stop the flow and release the majority – but not all – of your bladder into the toilet.

As you near the end, pick up the second glass and fill that with a couple of centimetres, too. Keep the two glasses separate so as not to confuse which one is which.

Hold both samples up to a window or light. Don’t tip them. You’re looking for floating particles in the urine, making a comparison between the two glasses.

Your Diagnosis
More particles in the first glass?
You might have an STD.
“While a few floating bits is natural – uric crystals or metabolic debris – this can be a sign of inflammation in your urethra as a result of the early stages of an STD,” says Asher. If you’ve had unprotected sex recently and thought that you got away with it, get yourself to the clinic for a check-up to know for sure.

More particles in the second glass?
It could be UREAPLASMA
This is a little more dodgy we’re afraid. “Ureaplasma is a form of posterior urethritis – a deeper inflammation of the urethral tract,” says Asher. This requires a longer course of treatment and you should request a test upon completion to confirm that the infection has completely gone. Once it has, though, you’re well and truly back in the clear.